This invention relates generally to communications systems and more particularly to a method and apparatus for determining the behavior of a communications device based upon the current proximity of a user to the device.
Due to improved technology, lower cost, and larger service areas, the use of portable communications devices, such as mobile telephones and pagers, has greatly proliferated in recent years. One of the factors that has contributed to the popularity of portable communications devices has been the freedom that they afford their users. With portable communications devices, people are no longer required to stay in particular locations to wait for important phone calls. Rather, they are free to conduct their lives and their business as usual, knowing that they can almost always be reached by way of their portable devices. With mobile phones and pagers, busy executives are able to conduct business even when they are in their cars, in a plane, etc., and field personnel are able to work in the field without being xe2x80x9cout of touchxe2x80x9d with the home office.
While portable communications devices do offer significant mobility advantages, they do not come without their drawbacks. One of the drawbacks is that of untimely interruption and disruption. For example, it is not an unusual occurrence for a mobile phone or a pager to ring or beep during an important meeting. When this happens, it disrupts the flow of the meeting and, in many instances, annoys the participants of the meeting. If several of the participants have portable communications devices (which is not uncommon), and if each device rings or beeps even once, the flow and the effectiveness of the meeting can be significantly disrupted and even undermined.
Some device manufacturers have tried to alleviate this problem by providing a vibrating mechanism with their devices which allows the devices to alert a user of an incoming communication by vibrating instead of ringing or beeping. While this mechanism does minimize the disruption caused by audio alerts, it is effective only if the user remembers to invoke it prior to the meeting. If the user forgets to invoke vibrating mode, then the audio alert of the portable device will sound and disrupt the meeting in the same manner as before. Hence, vibrating mode in and of itself is not an adequate solution. What is needed instead is a mechanism that automatically determines, based upon certain factors, how a communications device should behave at any particular time. Such a mechanism is not believed to be currently available.
The present invention is based, at least partially, upon the observation that much of the proper behavior of a communications device can be determined based upon whether a user is within relatively close proximity to the device. For example, if a communications device is attached to the belt of a user and hence is within close proximity to the user, then there is no need for the device to produce an audio alert when an incoming communication is received. Instead, a vibration or a visual alert (e.g. a flashing light or a display) will suffice. On the other hand, if the user is not close to the device, then an audio alert or another action (such as forwarding the communication to another device) may be appropriate. As this discussion shows, the proximity of a user to the communications device is often determinative of the proper behavior of the device. Based upon this observation, the present invention provides a mechanism for automatically determining the behavior of a communications device based upon the likelihood that a user is within relatively close proximity to the communications device.
According to one embodiment, an apparatus of the present invention comprises one or more sensors, one or more behavioral mechanisms, and a behavior determining mechanism. Each sensor (which may, for example, be a mechanical, audio, heat, or motion sensor) monitors the environment surrounding the communications device and provides an indication as to the likelihood that a user is within relatively close proximity to the communications device. For purposes of the present invention, a sensor is required to provide only an indication of likelihood that a user is within relatively close proximity to the communications device; it need not make an absolute determination as to the presence of a user. This indication of likelihood is used by the behavior determining mechanism to determine the behavior of the communications device.
More specifically, the behavior determining mechanism receives the indications from the sensors and, based upon the indications, determines one or more appropriate behaviors for the communications device. In one embodiment, this determination is made by consulting a behavioral table which sets forth the behaviors of the communications device under specific indications conditions. The values in the behavioral table can be specified by a user. This allows the user to customize the behavior of the communications device.
Once the one or more appropriate behaviors for the communications device have been determined, the behavior determining mechanism causes the one or more behavioral mechanisms to carry out the appropriate behaviors. This may, for example, involve activating a vibrating alert mechanism to cause the communications device to vibrate, or activating a visual alert mechanism to cause a message to be displayed or a light to flash, or activating a communication forwarding mechanism to cause a communication to be forwarded to another communications device, or causing an audio alert mechanism to activate or not activate. These and many other behaviors and behavioral mechanisms are possible. Which behaviors are carried out will depend upon the likelihood that a user is within relatively close proximity to the communications device. By taking user proximity into account, the present invention enables the communications device to automatically adapt its behavior to conform to its immediate environment.